Skills of Use
by aesirborn
Summary: Loki may not be the strongest-but he knows, even if everyone else doesn't, that he's the best. Written for a norsekink prompt.


**A/N** **Written for this prompt by anon on norsekink:** **Many stories assume Loki was always bookish, weak, and wouldn't train with weapons if he could help it. Yet he beat up Captain America in record time without using magic, and he can catch arrows shot at him.** **So I'd like to read something about young/adolescent Loki who is fully into training as a warrior, and surpasses Thor in basically anything that does not solely depend on brute strength (and each of the W4 really in everything).** **Each time Loki masters some skill, Thor and the W4 declare that to be unimportant for real warriors.** **Bonuses:** **+ Loki undergoes the same weapons training as Thor, *plus* magic studies, *plus* studying the law, politics, history, geography etc, and that is why he doesn't have close friends: no time to meet other people.**  
**++ Loki used to have friends among his agemates, until his tutors reassigned him to Thor's older group because he was that good** **+ Have we seen a close-up of Thor riding a horse? I don't think so. Let's say he hates horses, they hate him, and he can barely hang on hoping his mount will know the way. Loki is like born in the saddle.** **+ Obviously, Loki is very good with throwing knives. Let's say other ranged weapons also, at least javelins/harpoons and bow&arrow.**  
**++ He learned to catch a javelin and cast it back. From there on, he worked his way up to catching arrows, which was unheard of before.**  
**+++ whaling used to be a fashionable hunting sport for Aesir warriors until Loki could throw the harpoon better than Thor** **+ Remember the scene in the SHIELD underground facility when Loki jumped across the room at the agents? Thor cheats with his flying hammer at high and long jumping.** **+ Some tutor tries to talk Thor around to properly learning how to fight with a spear or staff, since he will wield Gungnir one day. Rude!Thor gets him fired.**  
**++ Loki has a headstart in spearfighting because of handling a staff in his magic training.** **+ This goes on for years until Odin demands a demonstration of his sons' combat skills. He insists that riding, ranged weapons, spear/staff fighting etc are indeed very important skills.**

* * *

Like Thor did some years ago, Loki is having his first sword fighting lesson, and it is with their father.

Its only a dull practice sword, scratched and fogged with years of use, but to Loki it's just about the most dazzling weapon in the world.

"Now," says Odin, his big fist curling around the grip, "You pick it up, Loki."

He puts the sword back on the hard pack dirt of the training compound, and Loki bends over and picks it up, his hands gripping around it like they'd practiced before.

"Take your first stance," says Odin, and Loki assumes the position he'd practiced before without the sword, spreading his feet across and centering himself. He lets out a deep breath as Odin walks around him. After a moment, he turns the grip over a little in Loki's grip, but otherwise he watches silently as Loki goes through the other two stances perfectly.

"Very good, Loki," says Odin at the end of it. "You're going to be very talented with that sword someday."

It is the highest praise.

* * *

The stableman watches the two princes carefully as they walk through the stables, their boots sinking into the soft layer of straw on the floor. Before this, the two had only ridden ponies, but they have finally grown enough to try proper horses.

Loki is standing in front of an impressive chocolate colored stallion, petting his snout slowly. The huge animal leans into the touch, and Loki undoes the lock to his stable and pets the creature softly. "Good," says Loki, leading him into the pasture.

The stableman helps Loki with the saddle, because he's still just a little bit too small to be doing it all himself. With a little assistance from the stableman Loki is atop the beast, taking the reins. He digs the spurs into the horse's side, and the horse takes a slow trot as Loki leads him around the pasture.

Thor, meanwhile, isn't having such luck.

He's stationed himself in front of the stall of a little white mare. He tries to reach forward to pet her snout like Loki had before, but the mare leans away from his touch. Irritated, he asks the stableman for help, and the man leads the mare out into the pasture.

Thor sees Loki's already on his stallion, going over the tiny little jumping posts for training the horses on. Loki is smiling like crazy, like there is no place he'd rather be than on that stallion.

The stableman tries to help Thor with saddling his mare, but it doesn't work.

Loki and the stableman end up taking Thor up to the healer's after he's been kicked in the shoulder by the mare.

* * *

Loki and Baldr stare at each other from across the ring. They're both brandishing swords that are a little too big for them, but Baldr makes up for it in brute strength, and Loki has just always handled a sword like he was born to do it.

The trainer signals and the two children walk a few steps up to each other, giving each other nods as they assume their stances. Baldr strikes first, but Loki easily ducks out of the way and blocks Baldr's sword, the sound of metal clanging in the air.

Loki goes for the next blow, but Baldr parries and blocks it, going lower, towards Loki's legs. Loki jumps out of the way and parries the sword, and for a moment, the two have their swords locked together as they both try to knock the sword out of the other's hand.

Thor yawns. It is the kind of child's spar that is so very boring.

Loki gives an extra heave of strength, and Baldr's blade clatters to the ground. Loki bends over and picks it up, handing it to Baldr and the two boys grin at each other.

Frigga takes Thor's hand even though he doesn't want her to, and drags him into the ring to congratulate Loki.

Loki is all smug smirks, but when he and Baldr look at each other it becomes friendly smiles. Thor never noticed Loki being friendly with other kids before.

"Thor, maybe you wanna spar with me sometime?" Loki asks, wide eyed and full of marvel at his big brother.

"No way, I'm too far ahead still," said Thor.

"Okay," said Loki, as Sigyn rushed out of the stands to wrap her arms around his shoulders.

Loki is startled enough to fall over as Sigyn says, "You did well, Loki." The two children help each other to their feet. Frigga coos when Loki tucks aside a piece of Sigyn's white blonde hair that has fallen in front of her eyes.

Thor rolls his eyes at the two, and turns away when Baldr pushes them apart and the three leave the ring.

Thor is not sure what to do as Frigga loiters, discussing Loki's impressive improvement with his ranged weapons.

* * *

When Thor is just on the cusp between boyhood and adolescence, someone new joins his weapon's training class.

It is Loki.

Loki is still a skinny child, with soft black hair. Any good wallop from Hogun could knock him over, Thor thinks, but all of Loki's trainers have insisted that Loki is simply so advanced for his age group that bumping him up would be the best thing to do for him.

Thor has never really seen Loki in training except for a few spars between he and Baldr. Baldr is the only other boy in Loki's age group, but Thor has always seen Loki surrounded by a pack of tittering little girls that he has his book lessons with.

Except Loki will also be joining Thor's group for his lessons in the library, too.

Sif looks over Loki suspiciously as Loki snaps on his armor. Tyr has never worked with Loki before, and Thor notices how impatient he is as Loki carefully puts his practice armor on. Loki flinches as Tyr hits him in the back with a wooden sword, but doesn't say a word.

Loki gets to his feet and joins the other children in line. He stands between Fandral and Thor. Loki takes a step closer to Thor, Fandral has pulled his hair roughly on the guise of tucking it behind his ear.

Tyr gives Loki a long, tired look. "How about you give us a demonstration of what you learned, Prince Loki?"

Loki nods and walks over to the weapons rack, putting his fingers to his lips as he takes a moment to choose, finally wrapping his hand around the hilt of a short throwing knife. Tyr looks at him questioningly as Loki pulls his arm back and aims for the target.

Bullseye. The knife lands right in the center, and everyone lets out a breath they were not sure they were holding. "The Allfather said you were good with the ranged weapons," Tyr grudgingly admits.

Loki goes through the other weapons he has learned to use. Thor knows that perhaps Loki is more impressive with these weapons than he had thought before. Tyr sics Loki to spar with the others, and Loki handily defeats Sif, and then even voluminous Volstagg.

Tyr has Thor spar with Loki next, and the two exchange strikes for several minutes before it becomes a contest of strength more than anything as their swords lock and one tries to push over the other.

Thor watches Loki carefully as a bead of sweat drips over his forehead, and with a grunt, he forces Loki to let go of the sword, and it clatters on the ground.

As Loki undoes the buckles of his armor, Thor listens to Fandral and Volstagg tease Loki for losing to Thor. Loki says nothing, but is cheeks have flushed an angry shade of red.

Loki stomps out of the training ring, angry.

* * *

That evening, Loki meets with Eir to practice his sorcery.

The healer admits that Loki's magic is far out of her league, but she is close with the boy and the most advanced sorcerer Odin trusts.

She waves her hand and a plate of sandwiches appears on the table between them. Loki has to miss the evening feast because now is the only time she has to teach him this week, but the boy does not complain and only picks up a sandwich, eating it in one bite.

"Somebody's hungry," she teases.

"Exhausted," says Loki, turning a page in the book on the table. He flips the book around to Eir, and shows her a spell. It's to summon and control the winds. "I want to learn this spell," he says.

"We will have to go out onto the balcony then," says Eir, placing a cloth bookmark in the page. She shuts the book as Loki grabs another sandwich, and the two walk across the room to the doors. Loki grabs his staff from where it leans against the wall and walks out side, and Eir bolts the doors behind them, so the wind will not disturb anything in Loki's room, should he falter.

Eir opens the book again and sits on one of the chairs as Loki takes position in the center of the balcony.

"Alright Loki," she says, "shift position from nine, to twelve, then to two, okay?" Loki practices the movements easily. "Okay," says Eir. "Here's the spell."

She carefully forms the Elven words calling forth the wind, and Loki relays them back to her, his enunciation perfect. He puts the two pieces of the spell together and executes it perfectly. Once he has the wind he moves the staff to control it, swiftly moving through all of his positions. After a few minutes and once Eir's hair is ruined, Loki bangs the staff on the floor of the balcony, and the wind ceases.

Eir tries to fix her windswept hair and then says, "Very good."

Loki doesn't get to the feast that night, or the night after, because she assigns him to write an essay.

* * *

"Loki, would you like to go to the parade with me in the city?" Sigyn asks one morning, walking up to Loki during breakfast. He looks up from the book he's looking at, a piece of toast in his hands.

"I can't," Loki says apologetically. "My diplomacy tutor wants this essay in from me tonight after dinner. I'm hardly half done yet."

"How long is it so far?" asks Sigyn.

"Two and a half scrolls," says Loki, and Sigyn's eyes bulge.

"Oh," she says, sliding into the spot next to Loki. Loki and Baldr used to eat breakfast together, but Baldr the Beautiful never seems to eat with Loki anymore. All the time she sees Loki now, he is alone.

Loki stuffs the toast in his mouth and makes a note on the paper. "Got to go," he says, clapping Sigyn on the back.

* * *

The children sit around a table in the library. Fandral has his chin leaning on the cup of his palm, a blank look in his eyes. Sif has her head buried in her arms. Thor has managed to stay up straight, but he lazily blinks more than he takes notes. Volstagg is chewing on some kind of bone.

To his credit, Hogun is taking notes just as Loki does as their history tutor drones on about some war between the Dark and the Light Elves back during Buri's reign.

Loki's page is fully of careful notes and chronological sheets. Thor's is blank.

Finally, their tutor closes his book and says, "your lesson is over for today, children. I will give you an exam at our next meeting."

The others groan as the tutor gets up and walks slowly away. "Loki, will you write your notes for me to study from? Father will be furious if I do badly on another of the old frog's tests."

Loki takes the paper and starts to furiously copy down his notes as Fandral says, "So? It's not like a warrior has to know all this junk anyways."

Thor shrugs. "I don't care for it, but my father insists."

Fandral nudges Loki. "Do you honestly have any need of all this smarts?"

"I'll need it for the future," says Loki.

"Oh, right," says Sif. "You're not going to be a real warrior, you're going to be a learned man," she mocks. Loki narrows his eyes as he finished the first chunk of notes.

"I will be a warrior and a learned man," he snarls, turning away from the writing. "If you haven't noticed, I'm better at fighting than you, _girl_."

Sif scowls. "You, me. Now."

"Don't we have another lesson?" Thor says worriedly, as his brother and his friend glare daggers at each other.

Loki drops the quill and says to Sif, "Gladly."

Thor follows Loki out of the library toward the ring as Sif takes the other exit. Loki walks almost too fast for Thor to keep up, and his expression is dark. The moment they arrive outside of the ring, Loki peels off his day clothes and puts on his exercise clothes, snapping on the barest pieces of armor.

Then he grabs a spear. "Loki, we've not worked with spears yet," says Thor, confused as Loki expertly handles the weapon.

Loki assumes some stance, then moves into another, moving as if to lunge, catching himself at the last minute. He lets out a heavy breath and stalks into the ring, where Sif faces him, brandishing her sword.

The scuffle is quick, and with the long spear Loki can easily block or avoid all of Sif's attacks. After maybe a moment of fighting, he knocks the sword out of her hands, and with a wide, sweeping blow knocks her into the dirt.

He offers her his hand to help her up, and Sif spits in it.

Loki shakes the spit off and stalks away.

* * *

Thor walks into Loki's room without knocking. The room is dimly lit, and Loki is sitting at his writing desk, surrounded by books, furiously scratching a quill in paper. Thor pulls up a chair and sits next to Loki, and Loki's head snaps up, snarling, "What do you want?"

"It's dinner Loki," said Thor. "Father wanted me to check on you, to make sure you're alright."

"Well, if it isn't obvious, I'm in the middle of remaking this map for my cartography," Loki snarls, shoving aside the original in frustration.

"You can do it, I'm sure," Thor says, picking up the original and setting it neatly where it belongs. "You're good at everything."

Loki mumbles something, and Thor doesn't quite catch it.

Thor strokes Loki's hair until Loki finally orders him out of his room and resumes his work.

Loki stays up all night working on it, but deems the copy perfect in the morning, carefully rolling it up and tying it with some string. He combs his hair back and puts on some shoes.

He starts the run into town to bring the map to his cartography teacher, but meets Sif and the Warriors Three in the entry hall of the palace.

Loki tries to only wave and rush past, but Sif grabs the map out of his hands and undoes the tie, opening it up for the others to see. "Why are you studying cartography?" she asks.

"Because it seemed useful," said Loki. "Now give it back."

"So? No warrior needs cartography," said Volstagg, taking the map from Sif and looking it over.

"That's would be saying that Loki's a warrior," remarked Sif, taking the map back from Volstagg and ripping it. The others gasp and move away as Loki snatches the pieces back, furious. For a minute it looks like Loki is about to strike her, but then he turns on his heel and goes back up the stairs.

The next morning, Sif wakes up to find her hair cut off. Loki rushes to the cartographers with a new reproduction.

* * *

Loki sits upon his stallion with pride, waiting for Thor to arrive. It's a short ride out of the city of Asgard to the port, and the princes are going along with a whaling mission.

Thor's never liked horses, but he's never outright missed an event for not wanting to ride a horse, either.

Just when Loki's finally considering just commanding to leave already, Thor comes out on his horse, trotting slowly. Thor has a look of deep concentration and irritation on his face, while his horse just looks rather bored.

The move out towards the port, and arrive at the port. The sailors start loading supplies for the trip back onto the boat, and Loki and Thor board. They're left to themselves in the cramped quarters they'll be sharing for the next few weeks, their luggage already loaded.

Loki stretches and sighs, "So, brother, which of us do you daresay will be better with the harpoon?"

Thor laughs, and says, "which of us do you think?"

Thor did not go on many whaling trips after that first. Loki loved them, but often found himself unable to muster a crew for it.

* * *

Loki is in much heavier armor than is usually worn. His sweat dribbles off of him, collecting in the small of his back in the beating summer sun. Through the visor of the heavy helmet, he can see the others fiddling with their javelins as Tyr waits to give the order.

Loki has already proved that he is excellent at judging distances and dodging projectiles. Why does he have to learn to do it with javelins too?

After far too much waiting, Tyr gives the signal, and the others start to throw the javelins. After dodging two, Loki decides to get creative, and he sticks out his hand to the next one that comes flying, catching it easily. His armor makes it difficult to do the movement correctly, but he casts the javelin back.

The others jump out of the way, and Loki takes off the heavy helmet and says, "Am I done now?"

He wipes away the sweat on his forehead, as Tyr gives him a long look. "Yes, you are," Tyr says.

Loki keeps practicing the skill alone with Thor, even when he doesn't really have the time. He can soon catch any javelin coming at him easily, and the motion to cast it back towards Thor comes easily after that.

Thor is stunned. Sif and the Warriors Three are not. "It's not like that's a skill you can actually use in battle," reasons Volstagg, and even Hogun nods to this at the next demonstration Loki gives in their training session.

"He's right," says Thor. "It's astounding, but you can use it, can you? Not when you have thirty javelins coming at you."

Loki is quiet, and only picks up his bow and arrow as Tyr wants to start some archery practice.

The next day, when Loki is equipped with only a shield, Thor and the others are supposed to shoot arrows for him to block and dodge.

Halfway through the exercise, Loki catches one of Fandral's arrows, in his hand, when its only a small width from his face. All of them fall silent as Loki lowers his hand and drops the arrow to the ground.

"I think that could be a skill one uses in battle," says Loki.

* * *

Thor watches as Loki stretches on one of the mats, in short, loose clothes. His pale thighs are sun up as Loki goes into a lunge, bending over and holding one hand in the air while he presses the palm of the other onto the bridge of his foot.

Thor stretches as well, Mjolnir beside him. The two are competing in a tournament and the long jump is next, and both have done exceedingly well so far. This is the first match they've been put up against each other in, and Thor knows that Loki is better at the jump than him.

It has to be the jump.

Thor has defeated opponents in swordsmanship and wrestling already, but of course he and Loki are put together in something that Thor knows Loki can defeat him in.

Thor moves to copy Loki's stances as Loki loosens up his leg muscles, putting one foot straight in front and his back foot to the side. He moves to put pressure on his front leg, holding his arms side to side, resting his chin on his front shoulder.

Thor never took care to memorize the names of the stretches, but he at least remembers this one. Thor lets go of the stretch before Loki does, and sinks onto his mat. He holds onto his feet with his hands and bends forward, bowing his head down into the mat. Ouch.

After more stretching, the princes separate to enter the ring from the two different entrances. Loki waves goodbye, and he's confident with some sort of bounce in his step.

Thor sighs.

He walks out into the ring. The only reason people have come to watch the long jump is because the two princes are competing with each other, which is always an event of interest. Loki goes first for the jump. He backs up to take his running start and leaps an impossible difference, and the official marks his spot in the dirt. Loki gets up and rubs some of the earth from his knees, nodding to Thor and grinning.

Thor scowls. Loki probably thinks he has it in the bag.

Thor has dragged Mjolnir into the ring, and picks her up as he backs up to take his running start. After he leaps, he swings Mjolnir in the air to catch the wind, and lets himself down just after passing Loki's mark.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Loki yells, crossing his arms angrily.

"Is it?" says an official.

Loki scowls and sits down on a bench. He was so sure that he'd be able to show Father he was the better prince.

The two rulekeepers argue for twenty minutes, and come up with a verdict. There is a rule saying that magic cannot be used to better ones jump, but Thor does not practice magic when he wields Mjolnir. There isn't a rule saying that Thor may use Mjolnir, but their isn't a rule forbidding him from it, either.

They declare that Thor has won this round. Loki does not emerge from his room for a week.

* * *

There is a tutor that Thor must see every two weeks who is supposed to teach him about being a king.

Thor usually spends his time with Sibbi occupied with doodling as he speaks.

"I think you should train for a while with Loki," says Sibbi one afternoon, snapping Thor from his stupor.

"What?" says Thor.

"You should learn how to wield a staff," says Sibbi, flicking through the book to a page with an illustration of Gungnir. He passes the book to Thor.

Thor glances at the page and says, "I do not practice the women's arts."

"The King does," says Sibbi patiently. "There are none who can wield the staff better than Loki, perhaps you could convince him to teach you some basic stances and spells with it. Nothing advanced, just little charms. The kind anyone can do."

Thor is not impressed. "I refuse," he says. "I need not learn to use Gungnir, the ability comes naturally once one wields it."

"Think about how much better you could use it if you learned to use it properly," says Sibbi.

Thor grunts, but that evening after the evening feast he walks up to Loki's room, where an oil lamp is burning. Loki has a plate of sandwiches on his desk as he writes an essay, because, as usual, he did not show up for dinner.

"What is it?" says Loki irritably.

"Sibbi thinks I should learn to wield a staff, so I can wield Gungnir better once I am king," says Thor. "He recommended I ask you for help."

"Fine," says Loki, surprisingly agreeable to it. "I don't have the time, but I will make it."

He retreats to a corner of his room, opening a closet door and pulling out an old wooden staff that Thor has not seen in years. "Here," says Loki, "it's not an especially nice staff, but it will serve your purpose until we can order you one, alright?"

Thor takes the staff from Loki like he would a spear, feeling the smooth wood of it. Loki grabs his own staff from the wall, and leads Thor out onto his balcony, bolting the door behind him.

Loki grasps the staff towards the top of it with both hands, his feet pressed together at the heal and spread apart at the toes. "This is position one," he says. "It is the most basic spellcaster's position. Most charms use a variant of a pattern between positions one, two, and four," he explains.

"Here is position two." He shifts his left foot out and puts his weight upon that leg, holding his arm like he would to strike with a spear.

Thor's spear work has been clumsy since he first started working with one, and he attempts to shift into the position as fluidly as Loki has. "You've put the wrong leg out," says Loki, tapping Thor's calf with the butt of his staff.

"So?" says Thor.

"While that may be position two with a spear just as it is with the left, when you're communicating magic it's something different," says Loki irritably. "That's position seventeen you're in, which you most definitely will not be learning until you're king."

Thor scowls. "Whats the great difference?"

"It changes the energy," snaps Loki. "If you draw energy from your right foot instead of your left, it follows a different tract through your body and the result is different."

Thor sighs, but shifts into the approved position. "Good," says Loki, less incensed. "And here is position four."

He takes position two and draws his left leg back up, lifting it in the air and bending it as tight as he can, grasping the spear with both hands, but his hands are farther apart this time and the spear is slightly tilted. "You never hold position four," says Loki, "it's only a transition between one and two, or a starting point."

"Okay," says Thor. He assumes the position, and Loki does not critique it, which Thor considers as a victory.

Loki says, "Go one-four-two."

Thor attempts to follow the directions, but somewhere between position four and two he falls over on his back, because he's not used to holding the weight of a spear like this. Loki laughs hysterically for a few moments as Thor gets back to his feet.

Loki attempts to restart the lesson, saying, "Alright, I'll show you how to do that easier," but Thor pushes him in the center of the chest, sending him stumbling into the railing of the balcony in surprise.

Thor throws the staff on the stone floor, undoes the bolt, and stalks out of Loki's quarters. He is infuriated.

He goes to his parents parlor, and says, "Sibbi has fought with me today. I would like to humbly request a different tutor."

Odin raises an eyebrow and says, "Why has Sibbi fought with you?"

"It is of no consequence. I would like a teacher I can work with better," says Thor.

"Of course," Odin agrees.

Thor smirks, and turns on his heal to walk out the door.

He doesn't train with a staff again.

* * *

Loki, in frank words, wants to bash the head's of his entire training group in with a staff. But he doesn't, because he doesn't have time. From dawn to dusk Loki is occupied, with training and classes and studying. He knows he's ending the end of his official education, but Loki has little else he particularly enjoys to do anyways.

He's hardly friends with Sigyn, Baldr and the others anymore, but he still misses companionship. Thor and his little minions have never particularly liked him, so when Loki no longer had time for friends, he gave up on the notion and responded by making friends not even a possibility.

Besides, who needed friends when you were a renowned prodigy?

All Loki really wanted was some recognition for it, honest recognition. Thor was always praised and revered and toasted for winning all those damn tournaments, how come Loki couldn't have some attention for his many accomplishments?

Thor enters his room noisily without invitation, as Loki has come to expect. "Father wants to see you tomorrow morning," he says.

"I have a magic lesson," says Loki.

"It's canceled," Thor replies, and Loki huffs.

"What are you doing?" asks Thor.

"Research," Loki scowls, rolling up his parchment and tucking it away. Thor raises an eyebrow, and takes one of Loki's sandwiches. "Hey!" Loki protests.

"How do you do this, anyways?" says Thor. "This is magic I could use."

"It's nonverbal magic. You're not a sorcerer, so you can't do it," snaps Loki, setting his tray out of Thor's reach.

* * *

The next morning as he was instructed, Loki arrives in the empty throne room to see his Father, who sits alone on the throne. "Father," he greets.

"Loki," says the Allfather.

"Why have you asked for me?" says Loki, nervously.

"Tyr has informed me of your progress," says the Allfather. "I would like you to come to the training grounds with me, and give me a demonstration."

"Oh, um, of course, Father," says Loki, surprised.

Odin gets out of the throne and leads Loki out of the throne room, towards the training grounds. Once they arrive, Loki quickly puts on his armor, and finds himself faced with Tyr.

For all Tyr gets involved with Loki and the other's spars, he has never sparred with them. Tyr brandishes a spear, and Loki takes his as well.

The fight is quick and Tyr has Loki on the ground within the first few blows, but once Tyr has helped Loki to his feet, Loki looks at Odin and he is smiling.

"Very good," says Odin. "I was informed you were good with the ranged weapons, as well?"

"I've never seen Loki hit less than a bullseye," says Tyr. "He can catch arrows too."

"Catch arrows?" says Odin indignantly.

Loki crosses his arms. "Yes," he says.

"Show me," says Odin. Loki take his position in the ring, and Tyr retrieves a bow and arrow. Loki waits a tense moment for Tyr to pull the string. As always, Loki easily snatches the arrow from the air, holding it over his head.

For a moment Odin is silent. "Perhaps I should keep up with your training more," he finally says.

"Loki had always exceeded expectations in training with me," says Tyr, "and his other tutors also offer only praise." Loki is surprised. This is the first he's ever heard a genuine compliment from Tyr, addressed to anyone, much less Loki himself.

Odin contemplates this for a moment. "How much have you been studying, Loki? Exactly?"

"Geography, diplomacy, history, military history, cartography, sorcery, Vanir law, Æsir law, sorcery, and all weaponry Tyr teaches Thor as well. I finished my tactical classes last summer."

Odin thinks for a moment, and says, "Very good."

Loki has to stop himself from beaming like a child. He only smiles.

Odin walks closer to Loki, clapping a heavy hand on his shoulder. "You," he says, "Will do great things."


End file.
